Latest Drug & Alcohol News

Big cities like New Orleans and Baltimore and small communities like Espanola, N.M., have been named on Forbes magazine’s list of ’Drug Capitals of America.’ Forbes reported Jan. 21 that the list is based on geographic drug-use data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and other federal sources. Espanola, for example, […]

Honoraria of $1,000 and free training and technical assistance are available to all current grantees of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) who incorporate certain smoking-cessation actions into their programs.

While more returning U.S. soldiers struggle with addiction to painkillers prescribed by Army doctors to treat their combat injuries, the U.S. Army's approach to treating addicted soldiers is drawing increasing criticism.

As Barack Obama was inaugurated with great fanfare and drug czar John Walters and other Bush Administration officials exited the halls of power in Washington, D.C., the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy quietly released the 2009 National Drug Control Strategy and Making the Drug Problem Smaller, 2001-08, a report on drug-use trends […]

Atlantic City, N.J.’s needle-exchange program — the state’s first — has succeeded in its primary mission of collecting dirty needles from drug addicts in exchange for clean ones but has had less success getting addicted individuals into drug treatment, a new report concludes. The review of the first year of the program showed that the […]

A number of schools across the U.S. want to administer random drug tests to teachers, but the proposals are hitting strong opposition from educators and teachers’ unions. USA Today reported Jan. 18 that schools in North Carolina, West Virginia and Hawaii have sought to join at least four school districts in Kentucky that require teachers […]

A new study suggests that smokers with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease react poorly to confrontational therapy aimed at getting them to quit smoking. A frank discussion of a smoker’s ’lung age,’ based on a demonstration of spirometry data, had been considered a possible method to motivate patients to accept the need to stop smoking, but […]

Scientists at the University of Melbourne are recommending that Australian supermarkets stop selling mouthwash that contains alcohol after a research review found that users may face an increased risk of developing oral cancer, the Daily Telegraph reported Jan. 11. The researchers found that using mouthwash that includes alcohol increased the risk of developing oral cancers […]

The Ohio legislature has voted overwhelmingly to repeal the state's so-called “UPPL Law,” which allowed insurers to deny health coverage to individuals injured while under the influence of alcohol, and Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland signed the measure into law on Jan. 5.

Evidence is “statistically overwhelming” that communities can reduce alcohol consumption by raising alcohol taxes, according to a report from University of Florida researcher Alexander C. Wagenaar and colleagues. The New York Times reported Jan. 20 that a review of 110 previously published studies concluded that higher taxes tended to reduce drinking among social drinkers and […]

Kentucky and Arkansas have joined New York and California in the latest push by state legislators to increase alcohol taxes as a way to address budgetary shortfalls, the Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 17. Peter Cressy, chief executive of the trade group Distilled Spirits Council of the United States, said that about 10 states are […]

Charities are used to companies cutting back grants during tough economic times, but the current recession also is putting a bite on corporate matching-gift programs. The Wall Street Journal reported Jan. 14 that firms like Northrop Grumman, GM and Pfizer have either cut or eliminated their matching-gifts programs. Other companies have barred retirees and part-timers […]

The Northwest chapter of the American Lung Association has been barred from using the national organization’s donor lists and name or spending money by a Seattle judge, the Associated Press reported Jan. 5. The chapter ran afoul of the national association after it transferred its headquarters building and $600,000 in assets to a new charitable entity. […]

Confidence in fundraising has plunged to the lowest level since at least 1998, according to the latest data from the Philanthropic Giving Index (PGI). Nonprofit fundraising professionals surveyed by researchers at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University gave an overall PGI score of 64.8 in December, down 21.7 percent in six months and 27 […]

Addiction treatment and prevention groups can learn capacity-building strategies from a free seminar developed by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). The seminar, available for download as an audio recording or transcript from the RWJF website, was developed for the foundation’s treatment and prevention grantees but can be used by any addiction-related organization. The seminar focuses […]

The U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether allowing schools to conduct strip-searches is a reasonable way to prevent drug use in schools; the court is reviewing a case where a school official ordered a strip-search of a middle-school student to see if she was carrying prescription-strength ibuprofen, the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. […]

The U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will award $10 million to enable national organizations to provide mentoring services to special high-risk youth populations.

The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) claims to have the “most conservative and restrictive approach to advertising of any sports organization,” but the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) says that the rate of beer advertising during the 2008 NCAA Final Four basketball tournament was twice that of college football’s recent Bowl Championship […]

People who are mildly dependent on alcohol may have success with cutting back on drinking using moderation-management techniques, but more severely dependent individuals should seek an abstinence-based approach to recovery, according to researchers. Reuters reported Jan. 16 that a series of reports published in the Harvard Mental Health Letter concluded that drinkers who are moderately dependent […]

Moderate drinkers ages 50 and older were less likely to suffer debilitating health problems than those who abstained from drinking and those who drank heavily, according to researchers from UCLA. MedPage Today reported Jan. 16 that the study, while confirming the health benefits of moderate alcohol use, also showed that drinking in moderation only improved […]

The world’s second-largest brewing conglomerate said that sales unexpectedly slid in the third quarter of 2008, with the weakening global economy getting the blame, Fox News reported Jan. 16. SABMiller said that beer sales fell 1 percent during the quarter ending Dec. 31, and announced that some jobs would be cut as the company — […]

The U.S. House of Representatives has passed legislation to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and to fund the program by raising federal tobacco taxes, the Phoenix Business Journal reported Jan. 14. Revenue gained from a 61-cent federal tax increase per pack of cigarettes will be used to fund the $33-billion plan to […]

City Council members in Federal Heights, Colo. have decided to lower the municipal fine for marijuana possession from $1,000 to $500 for possession of one ounce or less of the drug, the Denver Post reported Jan. 12. Jail sentences for minor marijuana possession also were eliminated. Council members said they wanted to limit the financial […]

CSPI Study Reveals More Beer Ads, Lax Policies than Other Televised Sporting Events Despite its claim that the National Collegiate Athletic Association has the most “conservative and restrictive approach” with regard to alcohol advertising of any sporting organization, an analysis by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest reveals otherwise. CSPI looked at […]